Review Recap: The iOS and Mac Games of October 2013

Games are flourishing across all active Apple platforms, and each month brings a bevy of new iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch titles, not to mention an ever-growing array of exciting Mac affairs. As a result, we're reviewing more games now than we ever have in the past, and while we hope you're keeping up with our many new weekly content additions, it's possible that some of our recent appraisals didn't catch your eye.

Our monthly recap looks back at the games we reviewed during October, with a total of 30 iOS and Mac games presented here in bite-sized, to-the-point encapsulations. And if you want to read more, simply click the link on each slide to read the full, scored critique and find the link to purchase each game. Whereas the previous month was headlined by big AAA affairs, many of October’s best iOS games were dazzling indies, like Duet, Device 6, and Type:Rider, while we reviewed an array of excellent Mac games this month, including Fez, Mark of the Ninja, and PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate.

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October Game Reviews

Like Super Hexagon and Pivvot before it, Duet ($2.99, Universal) delivers a minimalist survival trek that maximizes its challenge with incredibly tricky obstacles that must be overcome with quick reflexes. Here, you’ll control two dots at once on a circular plane, which means rotating constantly amidst the chaos. The result is an elegant, enchanting, and rather brilliant experience. (Score: 5.0)

Mark of the Ninja ($14.99, Mac) wowed on Xbox 360 and PC, and now it does the same on Mac. Unlike nearly all other stealth games, it takes place in a 2D world, yet the ample opportunities for sneaking around and quietly executing foes make it feel both open and electric. It’s an impeccably detailed, precise, and rewarding experience that lacks any truly significant flaws. (Score: 5.0)

Device 6 ($3.99, Universal) is one of the smartest games we’ve ever played — and read — on an iOS device. The text-based adventure uses your vibrant display to create worlds from words as the copy moves around the screen, and the spy-themed narrative is intelligent and interesting. It’d make a pretty good book, but instead it forms of the core of this excellent, inventive puzzler. (Score: 4.5)

The old-school pixel graphics in Fez ($9.99, Mac) are incredibly gorgeous, but ultimately deceiving — this is no 2D world. A click of a button or controller trigger immediately rotates the camera 90 degrees, shifting the elements of the scene and creating new opportunities or challenges. That mechanic defines this dazzling indie, which can be obtuse at times, but is more often enthralling. (Score: 4.5)

Several years after its sizzling debut on PlayStation platforms, PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate ($19.99, Mac) finally makes the move to Mac in an all-in-one collection that delivers ample tower defense action. While simpler than some more recent genre options, it’s absolutely absorbing, not to mention well-presented and seriously loaded with content. It’s one of the best. (Score: 4.5)

Like NimbleBit’s Pocket Planes and Tiny Tower before it, Pocket Trains (Free, Universal) offers a streamlined and simplified portable simulation with a strong hook, letting you maintain a train fleet to steadily build your empire. And as with those other entries, Pocket Trains is a very friendly free-to-play experience, delving out considerable fun without the need to spend a cent. (Score: 4.5)

Exploring the history of typography through an interactive side-scrolling voyage, Type:Rider ($2.99, Universal) is easily the coolest game about fonts that we’ve ever played. Swapping out challenge in favor of a more experiential, laid-back approach, you’ll roll through abstract worlds — comprised in part of the letters from each font — and take in the amazing, inspired sights. (Score: 4.0)

Like Telltale’s earlier episodic adventure, the amazing Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us Episode 1: Faith ($24.99/Series, Mac) uses a celebrated comic (Fables) as the basis for an intriguing graphic adventure. It’s a different kind of quest than The Walking Dead, thanks to a lighter tone and thus far less of an emotional grip, but the debut episode has us excited for the next four. (Score: 4.0)

Really embracing a touch interface for the first time, EA Sports’ FIFA 14 (Free, Universal) marks a fresh direction for the hit soccer series, with swipes and taps primarily used to command your squad rather than virtual buttons (which are still an option). Newly free-to-play, FIFA puts its biggest focus on the card-based Ultimate Team, though you can buy more traditional modes within. (Score: 4.0)

The larger screen of the iPad makes it especially ideal for same-screen multiplayer games, and Me vs. You ($1.99, Universal) is one of the better ones we’ve played in some time. It’s minimalist in design and mechanics alike, and the three included games take cues from air hockey and curling to create distinct experiences. With an equally matched foe, it’s pretty great. (Score: 4.0)

F1 Challenge ($2.99, Universal) does a great job with its top-down racing approach, which is made all the more comfortable on a touch screen thanks to a vertical slider that lets you take tight curves with remarkable ease. It’s not a perfect control option, but even if you’re not a Formula One guru, the game is plenty fun, and it includes missions based on highlights of the 2012 season. (Score: 4.0)

Boson X ($1.99, Universal) puts a delightfully geeky spin on the behind-the-back runner, sending you sprinting through vibrant and ever-shifting light tunnels in the name of scientific research. Staying atop the moving platforms is your primary objective, and you must hit 100% in each challenging stage. It also manages to do a solid Super Hexagon impression along the way. (Score: 4.0)

One of Facebook’s most popular games makes a strong iOS debut in the form of Backyard Monsters: Unleashed (Free, Universal). Kixeye’s free-to-play entry blends tower defense and strategic fortress-building elements as you defend your fortress from invading beasts. It’s a colorful and addictive affair, though it does tend to feel like a grind after some time. (Score: 4.0)

Blending elements from the likes of Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda, Monster Adventures ($1.99, Universal) delivers a quality creature-capturing adventure wherein you can customize and battle your beasts against A.I. or online opponents. It can be a bit tiring at times, but the eye-catching aesthetic and ample customization amplify this robust quest. (Score: 4.0)

Unlike Boson X, Buddy & Me ($2.99, Universal) imagines the runner genre not as a taxing skill test, but rather a dreamy voyage worth soaking in. You’ll take the role of a young boy running through the forest while a massive, cuddly creature soars above, occasionally assisting you as you overcome the breezy obstacles. It’s slow-paced, but stunningly animated and super charming. (Score: 4.0)

Perfectly timed to coincide with the month-ending holiday, Double Fine’s Costume Quest ($4.99, Universal) comes over from consoles with a very solid port of the beloved role-playing adventure, which follows a group of trick-or-treating kids trying to recover a missing sibling. It’s an inventive and heartwarming affair, though the combat interface is a bit less effective on iOS. (Score: 3.5)

Beats and blocks get equal billing in the ultra-minimal 140 ($4.99, Mac), a bite-sized platformer that lacks narrative or framing and really focuses solely on rhythmic platform challenges. The hazards and platforms move in time with the music, so you’ll need to use both eyes and ears to overcome the tough routes. You can beat it in about an hour, making for a short and sweet affair. (Score: 3.5)

From the makers of the excellent Hero Academy comes Echo Prime ($4.99, Universal), a premium sci-fi brawler that finds your hero wielding a laser pistol, a powerful sword, and beneficial powers granted by alien spirits. There’s a decent story here, and the controls prove effective on a touch screen, but the frenetic tapping does turn tiresome, as does the repetitive action. (Score: 3.5)

When it is OK to punch bears? Well, when they’re traveling through time and trying to take over the world, of course. Fist of Awesome ($3.99, Universal) is an oddball, lo-fi beat-‘em-up that nearly lives up to its billing, sending you off in search of furry faces to wallop as a pixel-based lumberjack. It’s fairly repetitive and some jokes fall flat, but there’s amusement to be found within. (Score: 3.5)

Strategy games on the App Store are too often muddled freemium affairs these days, so credit’s due to Machines at War 3 ($6.99, Universal) for going the premium route. While this real-time affair is a bit simple in execution, it’s still a very hearty offering that includes 21 campaign missions and mostly solid touch controls. For RTS fans, it’s one of the best offerings in recent memory. (Score: 3.5)

Even Up ($0.99, universal) might not classify as “eye-catching,” what with its simple and almost Sudoku-esque board of numbers, but there’s a solidly satisfying logic puzzle experience within. You’ll attempt to clear the boards by sliding like numbers together, which creates one higher-numbered tile in the process. While overly forgiving of mistakes, it still requires serious thought. (Score: 3.5)

Like Arkham City Lockdown before it, Batman: Arkham Origins (Free, Universal) delivers a polished brawling experience with taps and swipes used to deliver beatdowns as the Caped Crusader. Here, though, the free-to-play approach wears thin thanks to an energy system plus expensive continues and upgrades. Still, it’s a slick freebie that has its moments of fun to uncover. (Score: 3.0)

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North ($29.99, Mac) explores a different path than the hit films and source books, putting you in command of a trio of lesser-known adventurers in an action-role-playing quest. It’s much more violent than the average Tolkien fare, and satisfyingly so, but the on-rails nature proves limiting and the dull characters sadly come off as lifeless. (Score: 3.0)

Free-to-play drag racing smash CSR Racing gets an old-school follow-up in the form of CSR Classics (Free, Universal), which solely highlights gorgeous retro cars that you can restore and revitalize. Doing so proves satisfying, and is one of the best parts of the experience, but the super-slow progression stymies the fun and pumping in cash doesn’t go far enough. (Score: 3.0)

NASCAR: Redline ($2.99, Universal) features the official license, drivers, and vehicles of the popular motorsport, but curiously not the driving. Rather, there’s plenty of racing to watch, but interactions are limited to making timed decisions and pit stops. That in itself isn’t a deal-breaker, but the hands-off systems you’ll manage are a bit opaque, and it’s not clear why you’re winning or losing. (Score: 2.5)

Last year’s entry was pretty stellar, so how did NBA 2K14 ($7.99, Universal) manage to blow it? By offering even less this time around. By and large, the experience is identical save for roster updates and a new LeBron-focused mode, but 2K14 curiously ditches the commentary, while various visual and audio bugs persist. Stick with last year’s game unless you’re a LeBron fan. (Score: 2.5)

Free-to-play arrow-flinger Romans from Mars (Free, Universal) tasks you with manning a ballista to repel the waves of little green warriors attacking your ramparts. Smart timing is needed to fire the different types of shots to take down myriad foes, but games too often disintegrate into mindless, frantic tapping, and the freemium model makes upgrades seem prohibitively expensive. (Score: 2.0)

We’re very familiar with free-to-play models by now, but the one powering Dead Trigger 2 (Free, Universal) is so obnoxious that it almost comes off as parody. You’ll upgrade one thing to update another (and then another) ad nauseam, with lengthy wait times along the way. It’s a shame, because the core zombie-blasting action is actually quite good, but it’s buried by freemium junk. (Score: 2.0)

Level 22 ($3.99, Universal) certainly looks intriguing, offering a humorous take on Metal Gear Solid’s stealth formula — you’re a salaryman trying to sneak into work unseen after a late night of hard partying — but it sadly botches the mechanics due to an up-close view, a wildly over-sensitive camera control, and occasionally unresponsive controls. It just falls apart. (Score: 1.5)